To Rise, or Fall
by Necklace Of Tears
Summary: Fate is a tricky thing. Seemingly nonexistent, but always at work. So when Percy Jackson was whisked away by the Titan King in his moment of victory, was it another play of fate or something no one could have predicted? In the end, the ones who will decide the fate of all life, are also bound by destiny. [NEW VERSION]


**Chapter One - August 18th**

The streets of Olympus were flooded with a sea of blood, swords, and death. This was the final push. The pivotal moment. Demi-gods alongside the Hunters of Artemis clashed with monsters of almost every type. Hellhounds clawing and biting through limbs and armor. Cyclops clubs smashing entire groups of half-bloods into nothing but broken flesh and bone. Empousai arrows piercing through the air, the fresh blood of their victims still dripping from their fanged mouths.

Poseidon, God of the Seas, was currently fighting his way through a small legion of monsters to get through the palace doors of Olympus with his fellow gods. "Athena, what happened to the children?!" Poseidon shouted his way across the battle, swiping under the strike of a Manticores stinger. The Goddess of Wisdom grunted as she dashed away from a Scythian Dracaena's acid. "I don't know! Push to the Throne Room!" Athena directed, pointing her spear in the direction of the Throne Room. The gods quickly regrouped before resuming their attack on the monster army. The battle with Typhon had left the gods low on power and slow, which only served to stress the situation even more. Poseidon was ready to have a heart attack. If he knew his son even a little bit, then there was no telling what he could get himself into in his fathers absence. Achilles Heel or not, Percy wasn't invincible and this was war.

After a short few minutes the gods had finished off the battalion. Exhausted? Yes, but they were still Olympians. "Artemis, scan for any demi-god scents. Maybe we'll find Annabeth and the rest." Ordered Athena as she analyzed the palace for any remaining enemies. Artemis nodded, taking a knee as she slowed her breathing. _"Alright Thalia, where are you?"_ She though, inhaling as she tried to find her lieutenant's scent.

A few seconds later, Artemis shot up. "I've found them, this way!" She shouted, taking off in a sprint as the rest swiftly followed behind. After weaving through some corridors and picking off a few stragglers, the gods had spotted a small group of campers and Hunters.

"Thalia!" Artemis called once she spotted the Daughter of Zeus leaning on a column, holding her leg. Her and the other Hunters head shot up at the sound of their goddesses voice. "Lady Artemis!" Thalia and the other Hunters cried out in relief. Artemis smiled, though on the inside she cringed. She noticed a few Hunters missing, and the Hunters that were here were bloody and beaten. Many had broken bones and cuts, along with burns and other wounds. Thalia's leg was broken, and one Hunter was even missing her hand. Artemis really did cringe at that. She hated it when her girl got hurt.

"Where is Annabeth?" Athena demanded as she pushed past Artemis with Poseidon in tow, "And Percy? Where is Percy?" Thalia sighed, the look of relief wiped from her face. With a soft grunt of pain, Thalia pointed to a mess of rubble. Laying on it seemingly asleep was Annabeth Chase.

Athena hurriedly rushed over to her daughter, concern lacing her features. She was breathing, and aside from the wound on her head and a knife wound, she seemed okay. The Goddess of Wisdom sighed, switching her attention to their surroundings.

The palace was in ruins. The once bright and marvelous halls were collapsed, scarred by the results of war. Aside from the demi-god corpse hanging from the ceiling, there seemed to be no other casualties within the walls. "What happened?" Muttered Hermes as he observed his now destroyed home. Taking a moment to sit down beside a broken statue of Athena, Thalia sighed and replayed just how badly their plan went.

"We learned Kronos was in the Throne Room. I had the rest of the Hunters take point and took this group with us." She said, motioning to the exhausted and beaten looking group of immortal girls. "Annabeth, Percy and I stormed the palace, but realized somthing was up. There wasn't a single monster." A grim look washed over her features. "When we got up to the door, there was an explosion." Thalia looked at her long time friend in pity. "My leg got crushed, and Annabeth got hit in the head. I don't know what happened after that."

Artemis nodded as she turned to scan the faces of all mortals, quickly realizing somthing was wrong. Poseidon must have realized it too as he uttered "Where is my son?"

At his words, Thalia's head drooped as she slowly pointed at the tightly sealed Throne room doors. The Sea God almost did a double take, his eye's widening in horror. "Alone?!" He bellowed, sea green eyes aglow in rage. Wisely, no one responded. Artemis chewed her lip as her gaze flickered from her Hunters to the large golden doors. At her lieutenant's words, Artemis felt her stomach clench. _"He's fighting Kronos? By himself?"_ Was all that ran through her head. The goddess found herself slightly worried for the mortal boy's safety. Glancing over at the curly blond haired Daughter of Athena, Artemis thought to herself. _"I imagine you would be devestated over his death, wouldn't you?"_

Her train of thought was broken suddenly over the sound of a loud 'BANG!' followed by a small tremor that shook the halls of the palace, sending dust once again to perfume the air around them. Artemis quickly rose to her feet, spinning around to see Poseidon ramming the butt of his trident into the Throne Room doors in repetition, his rage only fuled even more when he saw his efforts were useless.

"Damnit! Kronos, bastard of a Titan, face me and I shall end your vile existence!" Proceeding to slam his trident into the thick golden doors, Poseidon started spewing threats and curses. The campers that had rushed the palace with their friends stood back, staring at the enraged God of Earthquakes in fear as they struggled to keep their balance from the aftershocks of his attacks. The other gods stood around, some appearing to feel slightly awkward over Poseidons outburst, while the rest spoke to each other in hushed voices.

"Who knows how long the sea spawn has been in there, he's most likely already dead." Athena said though she had made sure to keep her words quiet, fearing her rival would overhear her and take his frustrations out on the poor fool that spoke ill of his precious son. Ares nodded in agreement with his fellow war god, where as Artemis only scowled. "Dead or not, the boy still stayed back to defend our home. We should not leave him in there to fight Kronos alone." Some gods raised an eyebrow, wondering since when the man-hating goddess had shown concern for a male. A mortal one at that. Suprisingly, Zeus was the one to speak up. "Artemis is right, we should not leave the boy to die." The gods with less that favorable opinions on Percy were shocked that Zeus would want to save him, but nodded nonetheless.

"Damn you!" Poseidon roared as cracks started to form in the marble under his feet. Little bursts of sea green energy started rippling off of the furious god's body, his trident starting to vibrate as it released a low-pitch ringing noise. Dionysus cackled, his red rimmed beady eyes adopting a slightly unhinged hue to them. "Oh my, he's going mad."

Zeus, Hades, and Hestia's eyes widened as more and more energy started pulsing off of their brother, the sounds of metal clashing against metal accelerating until the Sea God was smashing away at the thick doors at near super-sonic speeds. Tiny indentations formed from the strikes of Poseidon's trident, until the doors looked like they were covered in bullet holes. "Shield your eyes!" Zeus commanded as Poseidon's true form started leaking out. The demi-gods and Hunters quickly scampered back even further and covered their faces just as Poseidon let out a roar as he true form broke though, his trident connecting with gold doors. A muffled explosion sounded and dust and debris scattered the room as the Throne Room door's blew off the walls, flying though the Throne room and bursting out a window, falling into the sleepless city streets of New York below. Everyone back in the hallway froze, shocked that the god actually managed to break away the doors, taking a good chunk of the stone walls with them.

Before anyone could say anything, Poseidon shot into the Throne room. Hades quickly ran after him. "Brother, wait-" The God of Death shouted before being cut off by the flash of silver that ran past him, nearly knocking him over. "Sis!" Apollo cried out, dashing away from the group to catch up with his sibling. By this point every had roused from their stupor, quickly gathering their bearings and charging into the throne room. Thalia watched as the stampede of gods and demi-gods rushed past her, a slight glare etched on her face. "Guess it's up to me to carry Annabeth..." She muttered, wincing as she stood. Even her fellow Hunters left her behind. After a couple of curses and mutters about breaking her sisters legs, Thalia managed to lean Annabeth over her shoulders and hobble into the Throne Room only to be knocked back to the ground when a camper bumped into her. Growling, Thalia leapt from the ground as sparks flew from her eyes, her unconscious friend and the pain of a broken leg forgotten to her. Spinning the camper around and grabbing him by the front of his shirt, Thalia seethed, her composure finally starting to snap. "Listen, I had to watch friends and sisters get killed all day, my leg's broken, and I'm in a really bad mood so how about you learn where...you're...looking..." She trailed off as she saw the rest of the group standing around, seemingly frozen in place.

After the sounds of swords clashing reached her ears, Thalia seized up. Immediately she pushed past the frightened boy, hobbling through campers and Hunters until she came out on the other side of the crowd, standing side to side with her patron. Noticing the look of shock and worry on the goddess's face, Thalia followed her line of sight.

And what she saw brought tears of relief to her eyes.

Kronos let out a might roar as he swung Backbiter in a powerful arc, one that Percy Jackson was sure would cleave him clean in half had he not rolled out of the way. He didn't know how long they had been fighting, or even how he had managed to stay alive. All he knew at the moment was this fight. To sidestep, thrust, slash, dodge. Kill. Yes, that was the grim reality Percy was facing right now. A reality he didn't want to accept ever since the end of his first quest.

"Kronos!" Percy growled, ducking underneath a sword slash aimed for his neck. The Titan King threw a kick to young man's chest, quickly blocked by the flat of the blade. The force sent him skidding across the room before stumbling over and falling in front of Artemis.

"Ugh...Ow." Percy groaned, turning over onto his back as he rubbed his eyes, slowly opening them only to see the suprised and slightly amused look on the Moon Goddess's face.

The Son of Poseidon blinked, before slowly rising up onto his elbows. "Lady Artemis." Percy spoke softly, a slightly glazed look in his eyes. Artemis found herself unable to respond. She couldn't understand it. Time almost seemed to slow down. The second she looked into those sea green eyes, it was almost like somthing inside her clicked. The goddess wasn't left to ponder as Percy quickly took notice of the rest of the people standing by Artemis. Namely a busted up Thalia, along with a very realived looking Poseidon.

"Dad." Percy smiled, adressing his father. The fight with Typhon had him worried, but was glad to see the gods were back and in one peice. That meant their victory was all but assured. After glancing a quick nod and smile to Thalia, and a worried glace through the crowd for his girlfriend, Percy rose to his feet. After taking one last quick glance at his friends and family, Percy pick up his trusty sword Riptide and glared at the Lord of Time.

Kronos sneered as his menacing gaze swept over the gods. His fellow Titans had either run away or have been incapacitated. Along with his army being defeated and the gods on his side backing down after so many losses, the worthless half-blood had proven quite a challange for him. He was starting to get tired, and his energy was starting to fade. He was running out of time. Even then, his blood boiled. Percy Jackson, the two-bit spawling of a washed up god, had almost single-handedly unravled his century long plan from the moment he met the bastard. No, he would not stand for that. The Titan would make sure he leaves his mark.

Percy opened his mouth, 'Luke' ready to fly out of his mouth before he stopped himself with a grimace. Luke was gone. He no longer had a choice.

"Kronos." His voice echoed out throughout the vast Throne Room, Percy's glare hardening as his grip tightened. "It's over."

"Ha! I'll be damned if I let a pathetic Half-Blood destory everything I have worked for! No, I will make you regret stepping where you don't belong. Come Perseus Jackson, I will show you the true meaning of agony." The Titan King finished his curse, thunder clapping in near black skys outside. Percy only responded with a look of hate, his fury and tiredness of all of this mess pushing him over the edge. He was sick of sending his friends to their deaths, tired of risking his life only for the chance to do it again. And it was all Kronos's fault. He was going to end this.

Stepping forward, Percy slowly spread his feet as he gripped Riptide in both hands, pointing it directly at Kronos, who's face slowly morphed into a sadistic smile. Percy shook his head as he shuffled forward, ready to risk it all just to end this living nightmare.

Poseidon quickly shot forward. "Percy, don't-" However, he stopped short when he realized his feet were glued to the floor. Bewildered, Poseidon once again tried to step forward only to confirm his suspicions. He couldn't move. And judging by the look on everyone else's face as he looked up, no one else could either. The god couldn't even open his mouth, as if someone had taped it shut. And so the exhausted mixture of gods, demi-gods, and Hunters were forced to watch as Percy slowly approched a blood thirsty Kronos.

"Brave or foolish, you will fall, Perseus Jackson." The Lord of Time threatened as he raised his sword to meet the demi-god's blade who responded with a coy, "I will make sure you never rise again, Kronos."

The already ash streaked sky began to darken, flashes of lightining briefly lighting up the dimly lit room. Rain hounded the already ruined city outside, the deafening boom of thunder rattling the ears of everyone present. Percy and Kronos suddenly dashed at each other, their blades meeting in an explosion of sparks. Each took their turn swinging their sword in heavy arcs, their battle already at the point of life or death. They both aimed to kill the other.

Precy grunted, leaning as far back as possible to narrowly avoid Backbiter's blade. Even with the curse from the River Styx, he didn't want to take a chance with a blade supposedly able to reap souls. The Half-Blood Son of Poseidon quickly slashed, forcing Kronos to step back. They circled each other, keeping the distance until the Titan rushed in. He leaped, swinging the blade with so much force Percy could almost see it slicing the air. Adrenaline pumped through his veins, time seemingly slowing down as he watched the same sword that cut down so many of his friends coming to end his life. The 15 year-old leaped away, quickly realizing he was moving a lot slower than he should be. Seeing the faint golden glow outlining his body, Percy cursed.

The Son of Poseidon quickly (well as quickly as possible) twisted his blade, hoping to catch the enemy's weapon on the guard of his sword. Wouldn't help much, but that was better than dying. But when the impact hit him and the blade hit him in the chest, Percy was sent flying. He smashed into the floor, dragging up stone and dirt as he drestroyed the floor before crashing to Artemis's throne. The gods watched on in terror. No one could move or speak. If Kronos killed Percy and turned on them, they would have no choice but to die. Still, as the Titan slowly strolled up to the dazed Demi-God, many found themselves worried about Percy's safety over their own.

Artemis felt frustrated. She couldn't move, couldn't lift a finger to help the boy sure to be killed. She still didn't understand why she wanted to help him so badly. But as she watched Kronos lift Percy's head up with the tip of his blade, Artemis could feel red-hot tears swell in her eyes. Gritting her teeth, Artemis's hands started to shake as she attemped to regain control of her body. All she could feel was fury.

The Titan of Time smirked, almost trembleing in sadistic delight. "I have dreamed of this moment, my dear grandson." He leered, pressing his sword harder into the boy's throat. Percy grunted in pain, but tried to keep his calm. Thankfully his skin was juiced up, even Kronos would have a hard time cutting it. Senseing the boy's thoughts, Kronos scowled. "Where is your anchor point, boy? Tell me or I'll stab every inch of your body until I find it."

The Son of Poseidon grimaced slightly, sure the Titan would keep his promise. Thankfully, he spotted water spilled out onto the floor from a broken jug. All he needed to do was stall.

"Even if you do kill me, you'll still lose. You can't beat everyone." Percy chuckled, hoping the guy with a sword at his throat not notice his hand movements as he willed the water to slowly slither towards him. Kronos pressed his sword harder agaisn't him. Percy gasped, strugging to get air into his lungs. His eye's flickered towards the water that had finally gotten ahold of his sword, and was now sneakily slithering up behind his 'grandpa.'

"Y-You know, Kronos," he stopped to gasp. "You are so caught up in what's to come, you never stop to look behind you." He finished with a strained laugh as the water slowly raised Riptide behind Kronos. The Lord of Time only seemed suspicious, before the realization hit him and he quickly spun around only to get wacked in the side of the face by the flat of Percy's sword.

The Titan was sent flying, roughly hitting the floor before sprawling out, slightly dazed. Percy shook his head, slinging the dust out of his hair. He grabbed his celestial bronze sword as he stood, resisting the urge to throw up.

"You won't win, Kronos." Percy declaired as he took unsteady steps. Kronos growled out loudly, his fingers digging into the stone floor. He looked up to see the almost smug look on some of the gods face's, only fueling the fire in him even more. Quickly jumping to his feet, Kronos swung around. "I will end you, Jackson!" The Titan shouted as he ran at Percy, sword raised. Poseidon struggled to get free, fearing for his son's life. Artemis felt panic rise in her chest, her hand flying to her hip as she unsheathed a sliver hunting knife before plunging it into her thigh. The goddess grit her teeth as she felt hot ichor pour out of the wound on her leg as she pulled the knife out. She felt a sort of pressure relieve itself off her legs before she fell to her knees. Able to move again, Artemis quickly summoned her bow as she whipped a arrow out of her quiver in a silver flash.

"Perseus!" The goddess called out as she let the arrow fly, hitting Kronos in the back of the knee. It just bounced off, but achevied in making him stumble and lose his footing. Percy's eyes quicly flicked over to the silver eyed goddess before charging towards Kronos, twisting his foot as he twirled and hit Kronos with a powerful slash, the tip of the blade running under the Titan's arm as it slashed a soft spot of skin under his armpit. Kronos's body suddenly spazed out before going stiff as a board, stumbeling away from his grandson as he fell on a knee.

The son of the Sea God looked over, his eyes matching golden irises. Kronos held the wound under his arm, the golden glow in his eyes slowly flickering. "Im...impossible." Was all he stuttered out before falling face first onto the floor. The Demi-Gods suddenly fell down, gasping for air they didn't realize they needed.

The gods slowly shifted. Hermes looked at Zeus. "We can move again." He confirmed, a grim look on his face. Zeus understood why. Whatever power that was had managed to completly immobilze 14 Olympians as well was a hand full of powerful Demi-Gods. Apollo quickly ran over to his sister, kneeling down as he began healing her leg. "Why whould you do that?" Apollo asked a little quiet, not wanting the other gods to hear them. Artemis only looked at her brother for a second, before returning her gaze to an exhausted looking son of Poseidon.

Percy panted, resting his hands on his knees. The exhaustion of all the battles today had finally caught up with him, swooning to keep his balance as his vision grew hazy. Expecting to land on the cold, hard floor, he instead felt a warm embrace catch his fall. The demi-god looked up into a pair of soft brown eyes, the warm hue of a gentle fire burning inside them almost lulling him to sleep. "Well done, Persues." Hestia spoke softly, a warm hand coming up to stroke his hair as she smiled. Percy blinked, almost mistaking the childlike goddess for his mother before a rough hand clamped down on his shoulder making him jump. Poseidon smiled proudly at his son, clenching his fist agaisnt his chest. "You continue to amaze me, son. Good job." Percy smiled, nodding as he had his father help him stand.

Percy walked over to his friends who were smiling and laughing in celebration. Hades appeared next to his brother, crossing his arms over his chest. "I must admit brother, your son is a formidibal foe." Poseidon bellowed out a laugh, pride surging within him. "Indeed he is!" The Sea God chuckled merrily, watching his son get tackled to the ground by his cousin in tears, then get grounded again by his girlfriend after waking her up.

Percy coughed, patting Annabeth on the back. "I'm gonna die." He joked. Annabeth giggled slightly, shaking her head on his chest. "Be grateful you didn't, Seaweed Brain." She sniffled. Percy simply nodded, staring at the ceiling. "True." The blonded headed girl slowly sat up, bringing Percy with her. "So, we don't have to worry about Kronos anymore, huh?" She asked with a sad smile. Percy blinked, catching what she really meant. His eyes suddenly found his hands, an ugly feeling settling in his stomach. "...I couldn't reach him." He muttered, clenching his hand. Annabeth only nodded, reaching over to rest her hand on his. "I know."

Hermes stared at his son's corpse, saddness filling his heart. "Um...I'm sorry." Percy mumbled as he stood behind the god, holding his arm in an uncomfortable stance. Hermes didn't turn around, instead he walked over and grabbed his son's hand. "This was my fault." Was all he said. Percy only stood silently before slowly turning away. _"I didn't want to kill him."_

Watching his friends and the gods talk and inspect the damage, Percy's gaze settled on a pair of silvery eyes currently looking over her Hunters. He felt his throat go dry. _"It's weird..."_ He thought, watching the goddess wrap Thalia's busted leg with nector soaked bandage. Artemis, like all other times the boy had seen her, was in her twelve year-old form. Yet, Percy found himself admiring her as he strolled up behind her. He reached out to tap her shoulder before quickly reeling back, realizing he was getting way too familiar with the man-hating goddess. Though she had never really threatened him, he knew not to test her. Gods typically have short fuses.

"Um, Lady Artemis?" The goddess spun around, feigning disintrest when she saw the boy. She was actually a little suprised Percy would just stroll up and talk to her. "Yes?" She responded, keeping her tone even. The half-blood opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out of his mouth. He only stared at her. Artemis raised an eyebrow, yet remained silent. Though when he still didn't say anything, she crossed her arms, feeling her cheeks heat up slightly. "You had somthing to say?" Percy blinked as if waking from a trance when he heard her voice. He quickly diverted his eyes to the floor as he scratched his head. "Er, thank you for earlier. That really helped." Artemis blinked, not realizing what he was talking about until she suddenly remebered shooting Kronos. She hadn't even realized what she was doing earlier.

"You're welcome." She said a little quiet, feeling almost shy when Percy smiled and nodded before returning to his father. Unknowingly, they both thought the same thing as Artemis watched him walk away. _"What was that?"_

Zeus loudly cleared his throat, garnering everyone's attention. Once all eyes were on him, he spoke. "Today has been a trying day. I know many of you have lost friends, loved ones. But their sacrafice was not in vain, for their deaths have brought glory to Olympus! On this day, we-" The god was cut off by a loud boom, the shockwave sending the gods on their knees, some of the weaker demi-gods being blown across the room. Somthing flew by Percy's head, before crashing hard into the wall. The son of Poseidon looked to see Hermes imbedded into the wall, knocked unconscious. "'For the glory of Olympus!' and all that, right? You are so pretentious, my son."

Percy's eyes widened, his hand quickly flying to his pocket to unsheath Riptide before a strained roar sounded as a wave of golden colored energy blasted through the room. After the glow subsided, Percy was suprised to find himself not blown to peices. Only moving slow. Very slow. Suddenly, a rough hand came down onto his shoulder, gripping him so hard the young man almost felt his bones crack under his impenetrable skin.

"Look at me, son of Poseidon." He heard a gravelly voice demand. Percy felt an involuntary shiver run down his spine as he looked up. Once his eyes met with Kronos's, the golden glow around his body dimished. Before he could even react though, Kronos slugged him across the face. Percy fell to the floor, his conciousness slowly slipping away. He saw the terrified looks on his friends faces. Poseidon was doing all he could to run over and protect his son, but it like moving through syrup. He saw Annabeth's and Thalia's teary eyes, their mouths open in silent screams. He felt Kronos pick him up by his shirt, but Percy didn't bother to look at him. He just continued to stare at his friends as the weakening Titan whispered in his ear. "I promised you will fall."

He threw his head back and let out a malcious laugh, a sound no one in that room would ever forget. Kronos wrapped his hand around Percy's throat, nearly crushing his windpipe. "Come, my grandson! Let's descend the Pit together! Ahahahaha!" He cried out, almost sounding joyus as his body started glowing a dim golden color, the light slowly getting brighter. The demi-god's eyes widened after what Kronos said, his hands flying up to wretch the iron grip on his throat to no avail. His strength was all but gone.

Poseidon screamed on the inside, channeling every bit of godly energy he had to break free from the Titan's time slowing power. He was making progress, but not fast enough. However he noticed tiny cracks in the golden glow on his body. His eyes widened. _"His power is draining!"_ He mentally broadcasted to the other gods. _"Fight through!"_

Artemis quickly channled her godly power, the tiny cracks on her body growing larger as streaks of silver shined through. Seeing Kronos begin to glow brighter and brighter, she felt her heart sink. _"More! Push harder!"_ She cried out to the other gods, her eyes starting to pulsate silver energy. All the gods channeled as much power as possible, little pieces of the golden energy that coated their bodies breaking off and shattering like glass. "It's too late!" Kronos shouted as the golden light reached it's peak, before flickering and suddenly subsiding back into his body.

It went dead silent. Some of the demi-gods had relived looks on their faces, thinking whatever he had planned had failed. The gold energy suppressing the gods disappeared. The grip on Percy's throat loosened as Luke Castellan's body fell on top of him. When Percy opened his eyes, he felt his heart stop when he saw the two pure white eyes of Luke Castellan staring back at him.

Poseidon rushed forward.

"No, stay back!"

A flash rushed past his father. And the last thing Percy Jackson saw were two silver eyes bored into his before everything turned white.

The first to wake up was Hermes. Turns out being punched into a wall had protected him more than injured him. After he finally managed to dig his ass out of the wall and fall to the floor, he saw the utterly destroyed Throne Room. Chunks of the ceiling had crashed into the ground, the walls behind the Thrones were completly ripped from the building, probably crashed somewhere in the city below. Pillars were destroyed, almost everything in the room broken or destroyed aside from the Thrones and hearth. What really caught the Messenger God's attention was the small crater in the floor in the middle of the room. Slowly standing up, Herems waved his hand as wind swept through the ruined palace, clearing out the dusty haze. After quickly searching through the room, he was relieved to find almost everybody alive. Well, on the other hand...

The worst off was Poseidon. His right arm up to his elbow was missing. Hermes couldnt help but grimace as he attempted to wake him up. After a few unsuccessful tries, he managed to get a slight mumble out of the injured god.

Heremes didn't register what he had said before he finally remembered what had happened. He quickly shot up, putting two and two together as he rushed over to the crater. Sliding down into it, Hermes looked around for any sign of his mortal cousin. What he noticed instead were long tucks of brown hair and silver cloth sticking out of some stone rubble. Hermes eyes widned, quickly lifting chunks of stone and tossing them away until he found what he was looking for.

" _Di immortales_ , Artemis!" He shouted in panic, quickly lifting the unconcious goddess while being careful of where he placed his hands. He gently laid her on the ground outside of the pit, wiping the dirt off her face. Poseidon was the closest the explosion, and he was missing an arm. So Hermes was more than suprised to see Artemis with only a few cuts and bruises. Still worried though, Hermes gently shook her awake. "Artemis? Artemis, hey wake up. Just what happened here?" The goddess's eyes flickered open an inch, before closing again. Hermes started to shake her again until her clenched hand opened and he saw somthing fall out. As the god leaned over to pick it up, Artemis's eyes flicked open again and he heard her repeat what Poseidon had said.

And he couldn't help the sickly feeling that settled in his throat when he saw it was a finger.

"Perseus..."

It was 12:24 a.m.

* * *

 **Yooooo. I finished it. I was actually planning to release this about two or three days ago, but then I FINALLY got the new God of War and well...**

 **So anyways, this is the new story. Yeah like I said, I just wasn't happy with the old one. I didn't like how I rushed the relationships, and because of that I missed out on a lot of great chances to add some spice to the story. Plus I wanted to change some things up and make it a little darker. So what do ya think? Lemme know. The next chapter will be uploaded in a few days. Depending on how long I can tear myself away from my controller lol. See ya next time.**


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